


I'd give you the sun

by eds_spaghets



Series: Moments when Richie Tozier felt like there was hope [1]
Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: M/M, beach, benhanscom, beverlymarsh, billdenbrough, depressive episodes, eddiekaspbrak, hints of reddie, mikehanlon, richie tozier can get sad too, richietozier, slightly gay, stanuris
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-13
Updated: 2018-07-13
Packaged: 2019-06-09 20:05:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15275193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eds_spaghets/pseuds/eds_spaghets
Summary: Summers are hard to cope, at least for Richie. But sometimes everything turns out better than expected.Or: The Losers have a perfect Summer day





	I'd give you the sun

Overall, Richie felt happy. There was nothing that could ruin his mood at the moment, and if there was, he wouldn’t certainly waste his time by thinking about all the ways that the day could go wrong.

Summer, it’s quite hard to deal with it. For many years he loved it. No school! No stupid homework and study sessions. Just summer, plainly warm weather and refreshing hours at the quarry.

But oh, had that changed.

Around the time Richie turned 15, he started to hate this season. All those incredible experiences and adventures you could have started turning into hours of pure loneliness inside his household.

Why? Well, somehow his messed-up head made him feel so wrong that all he wanted to do was to mourn and melt inside his bed sheets.

Fun became boredom.  
Smiles turned to frowns.  
Jokes became silences.  
And Richie simply felt depressed.

Once school returned, only after a month or two of the same routine he would start to feel like his old self.

Now he is seventeen. School finished a month ago and he is yet to feel depressed. Sure, he felt lonely as fuck because he finally started wanting to do things outside and see his friends. And once he started hanging around his room all alone, he was scared, terrified, that those fucked up thoughts would come flying to his brain again.

They are still there, at the back of his head waiting for the right day. A day filled with emptiness just begging to be drowned in something. And then they would bang on his skull and Richie would be left feeling like shit for the third consecutive summer of his life.

But that is yet to happen, so while he feels okay, Richie tries his best to have fun and not waste one more summer.

For the past week the Losers had been planning a day at the beach. They decided to have a sleepover on the previous night so that they could all go together to the bus station.  
The way to their beach takes up a bus, then the filthy subway, and finally another bus that would stop a 10-minute walk away from their favourite spot.

Yesterday, at Ben’s place, they agreed to play monopoly. Four minutes in, Richie felt so out of it he decided to quit, but his intentions were nowhere near for anyone to quit as well. But all of them said they should do something together, not partly, so they ended the game right there. Guilt turned Richie’s stomach, what a way to spoil the fun.

But then they ended up talking, and when the Losers start talking, they can go on for hours. And that’s what they did, they passed through every subject until 2 a.m., gradually starting to fall asleep.

During these conversations that they all share, there are some mandatory topics that always make it to their chats, and that is, relationships and stuff involved, such as kisses, sex, and everything couples do, and then there would also be talks about alcohol, and drugs, and everything that goes around them.

Richie notices things.

Well, sometimes he is very oblivious, and other times he just ignores things on purpose.

And sure, he is loud and talkative, but he takes in his environment pretty quickly, he likes to pay attention to the way his friends react to certain conversations.  
When the first topic rises up, for example, Ben is always blushing. He gets quiet, which is expected, but he doesn’t just stay out of the talk, he answers if someone asks, and he gives his opinions, sometimes stealing glances at Bev.

Richie also knows that nothing shies Mike and Beverly away. They have something to say to every little thing that comes up. And if Richie had to choose a category to put himself in, he is pretty sure he falls along with Bev and Mike.

Bill is in between extremes. He can talk his ass off or stay silent for minutes on end. But Richie also notices that he is never one to get shy anymore, he just seems to take turns as listener and talker.

Eddie and Stan are similar in a way. They get quiet during those topics, empty mouths about it, if they are asked, they manage to dart the question away.  
But there is one thing different about Eddie.  
His blank face does well to hide it, but Richie notices.

There’s sadness.

There’s a certain sad glint in Eddie’s eyes every time they mention love, or crushes and kissing.

There’s a certain discomfort every time they mention sex, drugs, or alcohol. Not disapproval, just noticeably something he is not comfortable to talk about. And that’s okay. Last night was no different.  
Richie wonders what’s behind it, if there’s something deeper than what he thinks it might mean.

Maybe he’ll ask it someday.

Morning came around, a mess of sleeping bags and teenagers were scattered around the living room.  
Richie took the advantage of being the first to wake up and decided to blast ‘Take On Me’ through the TV speakers causing everyone to jump awake on their positions and he honestly laughed so much he was about to throw up.

Once they finally got up, sleeping bags were left behind on the carpeted floor and soon the Hanscom’s kitchen was filled with teenagers eager for breakfast.

None of them felt like cooking so they settled on emptying out the fridge for yogurt and then the pantry shell, which was left with minus three boxes of cereal.

After the small meal they decided to multi task. Beverly, Richie and Stan made their way to the living room to pack up all the sleeping bags while Mike, Bill, Eddie and Ben stood in the kitchen to clean the previous mess and prepare all the food necessary for the beach day ahead. The counter was soon filled with lettuce leaves, a bowl of scrambled eggs and bread slices.

The ones assembling sandwich after sandwich laugh among themselves upon hearing the loudness coming from the living room. Richie was laughing hysterically and 3 seconds later his heavy running footsteps were heard all the way to the kitchen. He burst through the open door, still laughing like a maniac.

“Did you guys hear that?!”

Eddie mumbled under his breath, not tearing his eyes away from the sandwich station. “How could we miss the damn noise.”

Ben laughed along with Richie. “What happened?”

“You guys just missed the most epic fall in the history of falls!” There were happy tears in the corners of his eyes.

Somewhere behind him, Stan screamed. “For fuck’s sake Richie, get your ass back here!”

Richie ignored him. “Stan never kissed the floor so hard, I swear this was the highlight of my day!”

Bill spoke up, his eyebrows shooting up. “Is he okay?”

But poor Richie wasn’t able to answer because he was busy being dragged by his ear, Beverly’s only way of bringing him back to the living room. Richie leaned down to her height so his ear wouldn’t be pulled off completely. “Bev, Bev, Bev, Bev! Fuck, ouch! Drop it!”

Mike, upon seeing Bill’s worried state, decided to intervene. “I’m sure he’s fine, Richie wouldn’t be laughing about it otherwise.”

Bill’s lips twitched up, and they resumed the food preparation.

At exactly 12:10 Stan was pushing everyone out of the house in fear of missing the bus, even though there was always one passing every 10 minutes to the nearest subway station.

They were beach packed and beach dressed. Shorts, flip-flops, sandals, way too many straw hats, Bev’s flowy pants and one iconic Hawaiian shirt. Towels tossed over shoulders, beach umbrellas under arms and two large food coolers. The way over to the bus station was actually quiet, it was close anyway, and Richie looked at his friends with a glint in his eyes. 

‘Please let this day be great.’

And it was going pretty fine up until now. They finally settled on their bus seats and two stops after that Greta fucking Bowie decided to catch the same exact ride.  
Richie stole a glance at Bev, and she was squinting at the girl a few feet away.  
When she had to pass them to find a way near the back, she actually avoided their gazes and kept her head low. They all stared her down the rest of her way to her seat.

Turns out she’s pretty weak all by herself.

Or maybe the Losers were just stronger in any situation.

They definitely cracked up smiles between them and decided to ignore the presence of one messed up girl in the back.

The subway wasn’t as hateful as usual. There weren’t many people in the town nearest to Derry that was connected to the subway lines, besides, it was summer, many vacations were being taken at the moment. 

Mike managed to fuck up his card so even though he paid the tickets beforehand, they were simply a waste of money because he had to squeeze himself to one of the others to go through the passages. When they finally had to leave on the right station, they almost got caught by a cleaning employee.

“Who would’ve thought Mikey here would be such a problematic kid.” Richie said with fake disappointment and shook his head in disapproval.

Stan quickly shut him down. “I’m just shocked it wasn’t you.”

“Ow, Stanny! Is your butt still hurt from that awful landing back at Ben’s?”

Right about then, they arrived at the final bus stop and Richie’s bickering just died. 

“Please tell me that’s our bus.” And he pointed to a light blue convertible bus.

Bill took a look at the number on the front. “N-no, Richie. That’s n-not our bus.”

“But it has no ceiling! No roof! How fun would that be?” He pouted.

Ben agreed with him. “I kinda wanted to go on that one, too.”

Mike laughed and eyed the fun looking bus. “Sorry guys, looks like we just have to wait for our and pray that it’s the same kind.”

“Well, it’s not. Look.” Eddie pointed to the distance where their ride was stopped at a red light. A very normal looking bus.

Richie’s shoulders slumped. “I’m about to put on a tantrum, I swea-”

“Hey, guys!” Six heads turned towards Bev’s voice near the driver’s seat of the convertible. “I just asked this gentleman and he said this one’s going to the same beach as ours, but a different course.”

And that was enough to move Richie’s long limbs, leaping his way to the entrance. “Hop on, my dear fellas! We’re about to have an adventure!”

Needless to say, everyone was excited to feel the wind on their hair and the sun on their faces, though some of them showed off the excitement less than others.

They sat on the very back of the bus, taking up the five-seat row with Bill and Stan two rows ahead on the backwards spots, so that they were facing the rest of the group. Richie took the right end, so that he could reach with his arm towards tree branches on the way. He earned a scold from basically all of his friends about how dangerous that could be. ‘You can have your arm ripped off!’

Fun killers.

After 20 minutes the bus was near the bridge that would take them to the south side of the town, the one filled with amazing beaches and promising adventures. Everyone’s hair was tangled in a mess from the constant wind, and Stan regretted sitting backwards because his hair was constantly blocking out his vision and it was surely bothering him the number of tangles and knots he would have to work on later. And let’s be honest, the sea water wasn’t really going to help him in that situation either.

The bridge was long enough that it would take 8 minutes to cross and once they finally approached it, Richie felt so excited that he forgot all about his worries.

It almost seemed that life stopped for a moment as he took in the deep blue water below them. The air around them smelled like nature as they got closer and closer to it, and the best part of everything? He was with the most amazing people in his life.

He fought the urge to keep staring at the water with puppy eyes and detached his body from the metal bars that were keeping him from jumping to the immense river. He turned around in his seat, a very bright, fond smile on his face, and he took in this moment like it was the best one of his life, which honestly, it felt like it was.

He could only focus on so much at the same time, the way it felt when the wind cut through his curly hair, the way the fresh air cooled off his nose at the same time that the heat sat upon his shoulders due to being exposed to the sun on the most heated hours. And most importantly, he was going to take this exact moment to take in his friends, the ones he loved so much.

On the left side seat, the one furthest from his, he studied the way Mike was doing the exact same thing as he was. He caught him drifting his eyes from the river only to fall on Richie. They smiled at each other, bright and accomplished, and Richie knew they shared the same thoughts.

Right next to him was Ben, then Bev. They were both laughing their asses off because of the way the flowy pants Bev chose to wear were inflated like balloons because of the wind, making her look like she had huge stripped and colourful legs.

He glanced forwards to Stan and Bill, arms around each other and bright smiles towards the river. They were lost in themselves and Richie almost couldn’t tear his eyes away from such affection. His smile softened. 

When a hand landed on his tight, however, his attention was torn away to the boy on his left. He looked down at him only to realize Eddie was already glancing up to meet his eyes, a bright smile on his face.

“Are you happy?” He asked, and Richie thought that was the only thing he could be sure at the moment.

“Very happy, Eds.”

Eddie’s smile just grew, his teeth showing. “That’s good, Rich.” His hand pressed on his tight. Richie’s own hand met his. “Really good.”

And all Richie could do was to agree.

The hours went by and they were making sure to enjoy every minute of it. Racing to the water, racing back to the towels, playing dodgeball near the waves, competitions on sand castles and sunbathing. Some shadow-bathing too.

They were happy.

At one point they were almost napping in the sun, until Eddie startled everyone out of their calm state.

“Bev! Your summer freckles are showing up!”

“They are?” She got up on her elbows, a smile crept on her face as she removed her sunglasses. “They are?” She turned her face in every direction to face all of them one at a time. “Are they?”

A round of laughs and ‘yes’s came around as an answer and she launched to her bag to take out a tiny mirror and admire her new freckles making an appearance. “Yes!” Bev almost jumped in her seat, all smiles.

But who actually started jumping in his seat was Eddie. “What about me? What about me?” He tried to grab Beverly’s hand mirror out of her grip with all the excitement. Once he managed to grab it he stared at himself in eagerness but soon his shoulders slumped.

“I don’t have any new ones, they just got slightly darker. I envy you redheads.” He passed the mirror back to Bev.

She turned around to face Richie. “What about you, Richie?”

He frowned at her from his seat underneath the umbrella, playing solitaire. “Oh don’t mock me, Marsh.”

Eddie turned to face him. “Well if you would come out of your cave for once. Vampires don’t get summer freckles.”

“Yeah? I bet lobsters don’t either, and I would end up looking like one, you guys know it!”

“Bev is pale too and she’s fine.” Stan joined the conversation from his own towel.

“We talk about this every year! You just enjoy making fun of me don’t you? She’s lucky. You guys lured me in last time but I’m not going to end up like a tomato again, thanks.”

“Speaking of lobsters and tomatoes, you guys want to head somewhere for dinner nearby?”

And that’s how they end up counting every penny they brought along with them and realising that they will have to share more food than usual, but for the fun of it, they decide to go.

Everyone gets smoothies, from watermelon to mango and way to much sweeten vanilla. And of course, there were many swaps and stolen sips just to get a taste of something different. For dinner, surprisingly, pizza that they had to share so they could order less (everyone had leftovers from the beach so they weren’t really worried). And finally, they settled on crepes topped with ice cream and many caloric toppings, it was really amusing to see everyone dig out of one single plate and getting it empty in less than 2 minutes.

They ate the leftover sandwiches on the bus back home.

When they were waiting for it on the bus stop, everyone had bet on what kind of bus would be. Even if some of them were betting on a normal one, it was no secret that all of them were hoping for the convertible.  
They were very much disappointed when they saw it was a regular one, but they were so tired that it felt rewarding to have a nice cozy ride back home. So, it really didn’t matter.

Needless to say, the day had been a success, and a blast.  
When everyone drifted to their own houses, Richie felt happy and he knew his friends were too. That’s all that could matter.

**Author's Note:**

> Sometimes in my life I am reminded that there is hope, and those moments make me want to write.  
> If I get more of these moments I will write them from Richie’s ‘point of view’.
> 
> Feel free to tell me what you think! It's very much appreciated :)


End file.
